Oils for 40k

[MNOP]

Well, I am going to invest in some Death Korps of Kreig and I wanted a really, really smooth, well-blended look and I have been tossing around the idea of using oil paints.

As a note, I am a painter in the \"canvas\" sense of it. So I am more comfortable with them than acrylics, so that shouldn\'t be an issue and the wet-on-wet blending suits me much, much better.

So, does anyone have any pointers for that scale? Any ideas on good color choices or have any other tips for said army?

Thanks in advance.

 

[nick232]

try and pick up a copy of model masterclass by forgeworld, its very good with this sort of thing.

oils are good for weathering vehicals, i\'m not so sure for miniatures though, i would have thought that you would have had to thin them alot though.

 

[squig hunter]

The FW book is great, but only really usefull for vehicles. \"Painting Miniatures\" By Danilo Cartacchi (sp?) is a great source for painting miniatures in oils, main thing to remember is to get a solid acryllic basecoat, and acryllics are generally better for fabrics.
As far as colour schemes are concerned, the Imperial Armour books dealing with the Siege of Vraks have tons of information and schemes for the Death Korps, if you don\'t want to go that route, think WW1 Germans

Squig

 

[airhead]

I\'ve been playing with the water-soluble oils on minis. To get a smooth coat, you have to thin the layer till it behaves like an acrylic glaze anyway.

Other than the advantage/disadvantage of being able to stop work and start again tomorrow, I\'ve yet to see a great deal of difference. (disadvantage in the fact that the paint never seems to be set/done/cured.)

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by MNOP
So, does anyone have any pointers for that scale?

Try to aim to use opaque or very strong colours (e.g. phthalo blues) to help with coverage.

If you\'re okay with overspraying with Dullcote or similar then the possible varied finish of oils shouldn\'t be too much of a problem. But for a couple of reasons I would still recommend you speed-dry with heat.

It is possible to get just about the same blends using acrylic/vinyl paints as with oils but bottom line is use what suits you best. Certainly smooth blends are far easier, and faster, in oils!

Originally posted by airhead
(disadvantage in the fact that the paint never seems to be set/done/cured.)

Yeah, lots of reports of water-miscible oils having drying issues - staying tacky, not drying for ages. You could try heating the thing up under a desk lamp, in a putty oven or standing it out in the sun when possible.

Einion

 

[mattsterbenz]

You said that you use oils for canvas painting, so you should have a bottle of Liquin medium. Since that\'s an alkyd it will speed up the drying time of all the paint you mix it with. I use it on my canvas paintings and the oils are bone dry within two days, even less with thinner layers (though you should still wait a few months before varnishing to avoid cracking, as with all oil paintings).

I\'d go with Rembrandt paints, they seem to have the highest pigment concentration of all the brands I\'ve tried. (Though Enion is right, pick paints that are also known for being high in pigment).

And don\'t lick your brush

-Matt

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by mattsterbenz


And don\'t lick your brush

seconded! :|~

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by mattsterbenz
(though you should still wait a few months before varnishing to avoid cracking, as with all oil paintings).

I think last time I checked W&N were recommending six months, even for alkyd-only paintings.

Originally posted by mattsterbenz
I\'d go with Rembrandt paints, they seem to have the highest pigment concentration of all the brands I\'ve tried.

Vasari, Old Holland, Michael Harding and maybe Williamsburg would be worth comparing.

Einion

 

[mattsterbenz]

6 months is an all-around good time scale to go by. If the paint is particularly thick some people wait a couple years (though we would never go that thick in this scale), but it can be less just as long as the layers under the surface are dry.

When oils are painted very thin they become very matte. The thicker they are, the more of a sheen they get (though never quite glossy). Painting miniatures this way you should never have a need for dullcote or any other matte varnish other than just for gaming protection. If you can omit varnish, I\'d just do that.

-Matt

 

[MNOP]

I picked up some extra oils today as well as some Liquin, which I did not have (what can I say, I am an Impressionist).

I will keep this stuff in mind when painting. I hope to do up some larger 40k stuff, like big bugs, tanks, and other such stuff.

If I get anything done, I will post it if you guys want.

 

[mickc22]

I\'ve done a 54mm in oils, I really liked it, I used the fast drying Alkyds, don\'t remember the brand off hand, sorry
not gone down to 28mm yet tho



this was done in oils

http://www.coolminiornot.com/62315

try giving him a pm him


edit: removed the image tags

 

[green stuff]

Message original : mattsterbenz
You said that you use oils for canvas painting, so you should have a bottle of Liquin medium. Since that\'s an alkyd it will speed up the drying time of all the paint you mix it with. I use it on my canvas paintings and the oils are bone dry within two days, even less with thinner layers (though you should still wait a few months before varnishing to avoid cracking, as with all oil paintings).

Don\'t you use a lamp-oven (light bulb with tin can) to accelerate the drying phase?

[edit]Sorry, this was meant to be for mini painting, not canvas painting .[/edit]

 

[mickc22]

this is a shaggoth I did the torso in oils




I quite enjoyed working with them at the time

 

[mattsterbenz]

Originally posted by green stuff

Message original : mattsterbenz
You said that you use oils for canvas painting, so you should have a bottle of Liquin medium. Since that\'s an alkyd it will speed up the drying time of all the paint you mix it with. I use it on my canvas paintings and the oils are bone dry within two days, even less with thinner layers (though you should still wait a few months before varnishing to avoid cracking, as with all oil paintings).

Don\'t you use a lamp-oven (light bulb with tin can) to accelerate the drying phase?

[edit]Sorry, this was meant to be for mini painting, not canvas painting .[/edit]

I suppose you might, but it wouldn\'t really increase the drying time by much. With super thin layers and using an alkyd such as Liquin Original the paint should be dry to the touch in a matter of hours (my canvas paintings take about two days to dry only because of thick paint).

-Matt

 

[green stuff]

@mattsterbenz : using a lamp, a heater, or an oven (not to use with plastic minis) will get the paint to dry in a half hour to 2 hours time. And it\'ll take out the shine of the paint.